Wild Australia Stories

How do you choose between a long-lost sister and the man who's stolen your heart? Set among the hauntingly beautiful ghost gums and wild horses of the high country, Brumby's Run is a heartfelt, romantic novel about families and secrets, love and envy, and most especially the bonds of sisterhood. Samantha Carmichael's world is turned on its head when she learns that she's adopted — and that she has a twin sister, Charlie, who is critically ill. While Charlie recovers in hospital, Sam offers to look after Brumby's Run, her sister's home high in the Victorian Alps. Within days, city girl Sam finds herself breaking brumbies and running cattle with the help of handsome neighbour Drew Chandler, her sister's erstwhile boyfriend. A daunting challenge soon becomes a wholehearted tree change as Sam begins to fall in love with Brumby's Run — and with Drew. But what will happen when Charlie returns to claim what is rightfully hers? PRAISE FOR BRUMBY'S RUN:'This book celebrates the country and more importantly, the bush, as a life-changing environment. But we also have a heart-thumping romance ...' The Weekly Times'A lovely story of family, self-discovery, love of the land and the wildlife that live on it.' 1 Girl ... 2 Many Books'Another wonderful addition to the Australian rural genre ... Brumby's Run is a story characterised by family secrets, relationships, growth and passion and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.'

From the bestselling author of Brumby's Run comes a heart-warming story of hope, sacrifice and the ultimate triumph of love. .Call it intuition, call it magic- call it love. Something is calling Clare home. Brisbane lawyer Clare Mitchell leads a structured, orderly life. That is, until she finds herself the unlikely guardian of a small, troubled boy. In desperation, Clare takes Jack to stay at Currawong Creek, her grandfather's horse stud in the foothills of the beautiful Bunya Mountains. Here life moves at a different pace, and for Clare it feels like coming home. Her granddad adores having them there, Jack loves the animals, and Clare finds herself falling hard for the handsome local vet. But trouble is coming. The Pyramid Mining Company threatens to destroy the land Clare loves- and with it, her newfound happiness.

For Nina Moore, the rare marshland flanking the beautiful Bunyip River is the most precious place on Earth. Her dream is to buy Billabong Bend and protect it forever, but she's not the only one with designs on the land. When her childhood sweetheart, Ric Bonelli, returns home, old feelings are rekindled and Nina dares to dream of a future for them both on the river. But a tragic death divides loyalties and threatens to tear apart their fledgling relationship. This star-crossed rural romance sets Nina, a floodplains grazier, and Ric, a traditional cotton farmer, on a heart-rending collision course amid the beauty of northern New South Wales

Can Zoe protect the reef she loves? Or will fighting to save it mean she loses everything? From the bestselling author of Billabong Bend, Brumby's Run and Currawong Creek comes a wonderful novel set against the spectacular beauty of Queensland's far north coast. Unlucky-in-love zoologist Zoe King has had enough of Sydney. Seeking a fresh start, she moves to the small sugar town of Kiawa to take up an exciting new role in marine science. She is charmed by the region's beauty – by its rivers and rainforests. By its vast cane fields, sweeping from the foothills down to the rocky coral coast. And by its people – its farmers and fishermen, unhurried and down to earth, proud of their traditions. Her work at the Reef Centre provides all the passion she needs, and Zoe finds a friend in Bridget, the centre's director. The last thing she expects is to fall for her boss's boyfriend, cane king Quinn Cooper. Zoe focuses on her research and tries to ignore the growing attraction between them. But things aren't quite adding up at the Reef Centre, and when animals on the reef begin to sicken and die, Zoe's personal and professional worlds collide. She faces a terrible choice. Will protecting the reef mean betraying the man she loves?

When Sydney botanist Kim Sullivan and her husband inherit Journey's End, a rundown farm high on the Great Eastern Escarpment, they dream of one day restoring it to its natural state. Ten years later, however, Kim is tragically widowed. Selling up is the only practical option, so she and her children head to the mountains to organise the sale. The last thing Kim expects is for Journey's End to cast its wild spell on them all. The family decides to stay, and Kim forges on with plans to rewild the property, propagating plants and acquiring a menagerie of native animals. But wayward wildlife, hostile farmers and her own lingering grief make the task seem hopeless. That is, until she meets the mysterious Taj, a man who has a way with animals. Kim begins to feel that she might find love again. But Taj has his own tragic past - one that could drive a wedge between them that can not be overcome ...

You'll never see a wasp in the same way again ... When Beth's marriage ends, she's determined to build a new life in the country for herself and her children. A quiet life lived closer to nature. She thinks she's achieved the impossible – a civilised separation, a happy home and a cordial relationship with her estranged husband, Mark. There's even the promise of new love on the horizon. But when Mark tries to change the rules, Beth's peaceful world is turned upside down. Disturbingly, she also discovers that European wasps have invaded her garden. Beth's obsession with them and their queen holds up a distorted mirror to the human drama. As the chaos in Beth's life gathers momentum, connections between the two worlds come sharply into focus. The lives of Beth and the others are neither separate to, nor safe from, the natural world.

The heartwarming new rural romance by the bestselling author of Brumby's Run. Christy Peacock is devastated when an unfounded scandal throws her life as a drama teacher at a prestigious Sydney school off track. With her dream career in shreds, she spontaneously answers an ad to work at Currawong Creek, a horse therapy camp for troubled children nestled among the picturesque Bunya Mountains. Celebrity chef Tyler Ward hopes that Currawong Creek might hold the answer to reconnecting with his surly son, Leo. In a last-ditch attempt to bring the teenager out of his shell, Christy introduces Leo to Lofty, a wild ex-racehorse who trusts nobody. Their lives now intertwined, Christy and Tyler can't help falling for each other. But old secrets and unsolved mysteries refuse to remain buried, and their fledgling romance might be over before it truly begins... Wild Horses is a moving tale of second chances and finding love in unexpected places, set against the beautiful backdrop of the Darling Downs countryside.